Kaitha

From the moment Kaitha hatched, it was apparent that not all was as it should be with the tiny Fae. The tiny bone nubs that would grow into full size horns were immediately visible, and the clan elders, even her own father, condemned her without hesitation.

Abomination.

It was the first word she could remember hearing, and one she would hear so often thereafter. It was only an impassioned plea from her mother that saved the newborn hatchling's life, though Kaitha sometimes wonders if her mother holds any regrets for her success that day.

As she grew, she was kept isolated from the rest of the clan as much as possible; only her mother and her siblings would bear her presence or speak out on her behalf when she was inevitably blamed for every small misfortune that the clan encountered.

It was only natural that she would bring ruin to everything she touched, her father said. No matter what she did, her unnatural nature would twist it to darkness and destruction.

Kaitha tried desperately to prove him wrong. She worked harder than any clan member, when she was allowed to. She gathered food, scouted for danger on the edges of their verdant forest home, learned the skills to help heal the wounds of others.

But still, in the end, her worst fears became reality.

Scouting at the furthest edges of the clan's home was dangerous. Dark, fickle creatures lurked in the shadows, and sometimes plagued beasts from the lands even farther beyond managed to make their way to the green borders of the Labyrinth. No one had ever told Kaitha of these things, however. She knew there was danger, but in their shunning of her, the clan warriors never explained what form it took.

Spotting the corpse of a fallen beast just beyond the trees, she felt sorry for it. Wanting to give it a proper burial, she managed to drag it into the trees, and after many hours had a grave dug and covered. Hoping the creature would find some peace, she went back to her patrol.

She could not have known.

The sickness spread with alarming speed, first through the plants, then the wildlife. Before anyone even knew what was happening, there were already infected dragons amongst the clan. Fear and panic reigned. The magical wards around their lands should've prevented any of the plagued beasts from entering, unless...

It did not take long for the clan's ire to turn on Kaitha. Determined to save her life, her siblings grabbed her in the night and smuggled her, despite her protests, to the borders of the Labyrinth. She did not want to leave her mother, who had also fallen ill, but in the end she had little choice.

Kaitha wandered alone for quite some time, the guilt of what she had unintentionally brought upon her loved ones eating away at her. She hid from other dragons, especially those that hailed from the Labyrinth, both out of fear of her clan's vengeance, and fear of bringing misfortune upon anyone else.

She was napping uneasily under a stand of bushes on a windswept plain when a heavy weight came down on her wing, drawing a suprised and pained shriek from the Fae before she could stop herself.

"Oh goodness, I'm awfully sorry!" The large, pale green Guardian peered down at her anxiously. The blue swirls in his scales made dizzying patterns in her pain-blurred vision. Before she could protest, Kaitha was scooped up in his claws and deposited on his back. "I'll get you help, don't worry!"

She clung to his scales for dear life as he loped across the plain. As he headed full speed for a cliff edge she had a moment of panic, but his wings snapped open just in time to glide gracefully down to a cave opening below.

Landing was somewhat less smooth, and Katha was thrown off his back into the cave wall.

"Sorry, sorry! Haven't gotten used to being so big yet...I was a Pearlcatcher until last week. You know how it is..." He scooped her up again, distraught. "I promise we'll get you fixed up right as rain, I swear it."

"S'okay...deserve worse..." she managed to gasp as he headed down the tunnel. His scaled brow furrowed in an expression unfamiliar to her...was it concern?

She must've passed out, because the next thing she knew, she was nestled at the side of a Guardian female, who was wrapping the injured wing with surprising delicacy. She looked down at Kaitha and smiled.

"Rest now. The past has no sway here. You are what you choose to be."

The cryptic words stayed with Kaitha even after she woke. She was hesitant to trust the acceptance she found among the Tempest Walkers, but the thought of returning to her loneliness was unbearable. So she stayed, though she made her nest in the farthest corner of the caves that these Wind dragons called home, high in an unoccupied cavern.

It did not remain unoccupied for long, though. Now Whisper lairs below her; while initially anxious at the thought of living so close to another dragon again, Kaitha finds the Pearlcatcher's quiet self-assurance to be quite calming.


Kaitha is a gentle soul, and perhaps more accepting than most due to her past. She remains somewhat timid and nervous, but she had grown to trust and love her clan, and may even one day find the strength to forgive herself. She genuinely believes every creature, dragon or beastclan, is deserving of a chance for life and happiness, and her voice is most often the one speaking out for those that may have otherwise been turned away by less open-minded clanmates.